I've run into quite a problem the last few days. I bought three -new laptops for my parents and a few others. I bought Packard Bell -Easynote LV to run Kubuntu on and use as their home computer. But I -am completely unable to figure out how to install Linux on it. The -computer is preinstalled with Windows 8, and I suspect it uses UEFI -instead of a BIOS to boot.
- -The problem is that I am unable to get it to PXE boot, and unable -to get it to boot the Linux installer from my USB stick. I have yet -to try the DVD install, and still hope it will work. when I turn on -the computer, there is no information on what buttons to press to get -the normal boot menu. I expect to get some boot menu to select PXE or -USB stick booting. When booting, it first ask for the language to -use, then for some regional settings, and finally if I will accept the -Windows 8 terms of use. As these terms are completely unacceptable to -me, I have no other choice but to turn off the computer and try again -to get it to boot the Linux installer.
- -I have gathered my findings so far on a Linlap page about the -Packard Bell -EasyNote LV model. If you have any idea how to get Linux -installed on this machine, please get in touch or update that wiki -page. If I can't find a way to install Linux, I will have to return -the laptop to the seller and find another machine for my parents.
- -I wonder, is this the way Linux will be forced out of the marked -using UEFI and "secure boot" by making it impossible to install Linux -on new Laptops?
+ +The second wheezy based beta release of Debian Edu was wrapped up +today, slightly delayed because of some bugs in the initial Windows +integration fixes . This is the release announcement:
+ +New features for Debian Edu 7.1+edu0~b1 released 2013-08-22
+ +These are the release notes for Debian Edu / Skolelinux +7.1+edu0~b1, based on Debian with codename "Wheezy".
+ +About Debian Edu and Skolelinux
+ +Debian Edu, also known as +Skolelinux, is a Linux distribution based on Debian providing an +out-of-the box environment of a completely configured school +network. Immediately after installation a school server running all +services needed for a school network is set up just waiting for users +and machines being added via GOsa², a comfortable Web-UI. A netbooting +environment is prepared using PXE, so after initial installation of +the main server from CD or USB stick all other machines can be +installed via the network. The provided school server provides LDAP +database and Kerberos authentication service, centralized home +directories, DHCP server, web proxy and many other services. The +desktop contains +more +than 60 educational software packages and more are available from +the Debian archive, and schools can choose between KDE, Gnome, LXDE +and Xfce desktop environment.
+ +This is the sixth test release based on Debian Wheezy. Basically this +is an updated and slightly improved version compared to the Squeeze +release.
+ +ALERT: Alpha based installations should reinstall or downgrade the +versions of gosa and libpam-mklocaluser to the ones used in this beta +release. Both alpha and beta0 based installations should reinstall or +deal with gosa.conf manually; there are two options: (1) Keep +gosa.conf and edit this file as outlined +on +the mailing list. (2) Accept the new version of gosa.conf and +replace both contained admin password placeholders with the password +hashes found in the old one (backup copy!). In both cases every user +need to change their their password to make sure a password is set for +CIFS access to their home directory.
+ +Software updates
+ +-
+
+
- Added ssh askpass packages to default installation, to ensure ssh + work also without a attached tty. +
- Add the command-not-found package to the default installation to + make it easier to figure out where to find missing command line + tools. Please note, that the command 'update-command-not-found' + has to be run as root to actually make it useful (internet access + required). + +
Other changes
+ +-
+
+
- Adjusted the USB stick ISO image build to include every tool +needed for desktop=xfce installations. +
- Adjust thin-client-server task to work when installing from USB +stick ISO image. +
- Made new grub artwork (changed png from indexed to RGB format). +
- Minor cleanup in the CUPS setup. +
- Make sure that bootstrapping of the Samba domain really happens + during installation of the main server and adjust SID handling to + cope with this. +
- Make Samba passwords changeable (again) via GOsa². +
- Fix generation of LM and NT password hashes via GOsa² to avoid + empty password hashes. +
- Adapted Samba machine domain joining to latest change in the + smbldap-tools Perl package, fixing bugs blocking Windows machines + from joining the Samba domain. + +
Known issues
+ +-
+
+
- KDE fails to understand the wpad.dat file provided, causing it to + not use the http proxy as it should. +
- Chromium also fails to use the proxy when using the KDE desktop + (using the KDE configuration). + +
Where to get it
+ +To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use
+ +-
+
+
- ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b1-CD.iso + +
- http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b1-CD.iso + +
- rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b1-CD.iso . + +
The MD5SUM of this image is: 1e357f80b55e703523f2254adde6d78b
+
The SHA1SUM of this image is: 7157f9be5fd27c7694d713c6ecfed61c3edda3b2
To download the multiarch USB stick ISO release you can use
+ +-
+
+
- ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b1-USB.iso +
- http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b1-USB.iso +
- rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b1-USB.iso . + +
The MD5SUM of this image is: 7a8408ead59cf7e3cef25afb6e91590b
+
The SHA1SUM of this image is: f1817c031f02790d5edb3bfa0dcf8451088ad119
How to report bugs
+ +En ting -Skolelinux-prosjektet har -hatt mye glede av er studentprosjekter. F.eks. er -stillbildeanimasjonssystemet -Stopmotion resultat av et studentprosjekt i Skolelinux. De siste -månedene har en ivrig student veiledet av Marius Kotsbak i -FRiSK testet hva en -kan få til med en datamaskin til NOK 400,- (antagelig 1700,- med -skjerm, tastatur og mus) når det brukes i Skolelinux. Jeg spurte han -om et intervju.
- -Hvem er du, og hva driver du med til daglig?
- -Jeg heter Nirosan Thiyagalingam. Jeg er 24 år og studerer -dataingeniør studiet ved Høgskolen i Sør Trøndelag. Interessen for -data har siden ung alder vært tilstede og jeg har i tillegg alltid -vært glad i å lære nye ting. Med teknologi som endres svært hurtig er -det alltid noe nytt å lære. Noe som igjen har gjort det svært -interessant å følge med på utviklingen. Jeg valgte dataingeniør -studiet grunnet ønske om å lære enda mer om programmering og utvikling -av store systemer.
- -Hvordan kom du i kontakt med Skolelinux-prosjektet?
- -Skolelinux prosjektet hørte jeg først om i media. Men det var først -når jeg skulle velge bacheloroppgave at jeg fattet mer interesse for -prosjektet. Et enkelt søk på nettet førte meg til skolelinux sine -hjemmesider. Informasjonen jeg fant der gjorde meg enda nysgjerrig og -jeg valgte derfor en oppgave som gikk ut på å få en -Raspberry PI. Altså en -ultra-billig datamaskin til å kjøre Debian Edu på lik linje med -vanlige datamaskiner. I løpet av prosjektet ble det gjort mye -forskning på nettet. Det var mye jeg måtte forstå rundt hvordan -operativsystemet Linux fungerte før jeg kunne angripe -problemet. Prøvde først å finne ut hvordan man kunne transformere en -vanlig installasjon av Skolelinux til Raspberry PI, men dette var -altfor vanskelig å jeg endte opp med mer spørsmål enn svar. Det ble -videre opprettet kontakt med Skolelinux utviklere på IRC der jeg fikk -diskutert hvilken retning jeg burde gå for å få til en fullverdig -løsning. Det ble bestemt at jeg skulle gå for å først installere -Raspian. Dette er et -operativsystem basert på Debian spesiallaget for Raspberry Pi sin -maskinvare. Nå som Debian var installert på datamaskinen gjenstod det -å installere de nødvendige Skolelinux pakkene for å få til et -fullverdig system. Disse pakkene ble installert manuelt i første -omgang, men ble senere installert automatisk via et script som Petter -Reinholdtsen laget. Dette scriptet er så enkel å bruke at man er i -gang med installasjonen i løpet av bare 5 minutter. Ikke nok med det, -alt skjer helt automatisk. Alt i alt er jeg veldig fornøyd med -resultatet av installasjonsprosessen. Raspberry Pi er en veldig svak -maskin og det merkes godt når man har installert Skolelinux på -den. Video og 3D-rendering fungerer utrolig dårlig, men nettsurfing og -kontorprogrammer fungerer godt. Det kan derfor konkluderes med at -datamaskinen er egnet for enkle oppgaver. - -
Jeg syns det er viktig påpeke at dette kun er startfasen av en slik -løsning. På markedet finnes det nå maskiner som har bedre hardware enn -Raspberry Pi. Det er store muligheter for at man kan klare å -installere Skolelinux på disse også, og da forsvinner nok mest -sannsynlig ytelsesproblemene med Video og 3D rendering også.
- -Det ble også prøvd med en løsning som gjorde at Raspberry Pi -fungerte som en tynnklient. Denne løsningen hadde langt bedre ytelse -med tanke på hastighet og brukeropplevelse. Men også her var video og -3D rendering dårlig. Det ble brukt en liten Linux distribusjon kalt -BerryTerminal for å få til -dette.
- -Hva er fordelene med Skolelinux slik du ser det?
- -Fordelen med Skolelinux er mange. At det er gratis er en stor -fordel, men at det er så mange som er med på å utvikle det og -vedlikeholde det er en enda større fordel. Allerede før jeg startet -med prosjektet så jeg mange fordeler, og når jeg nærmet meg sluttfasen -så jeg langt flere. At prosjektet skulle inneha en så høy kvalitet -hadde jeg aldri trodd. En vanlig Skolelinux installasjon har de -nødvendige programmene og funksjonen som både små og store skoler i -tillegg til organisasjoner kan klare seg med. At prosjektet tilbyr en -så komplett løsning er en kjempefordel. Installasjonen er knirkefri -og det er svært enkelt å installere og komme i gang.
- -Hva er ulempene med Skolelinux slik du ser det?
- -Ulempene jeg ser med prosjektet er ryddigheten av websidene. Selv -om websidene er enkle og konsise er det allikevel ikke appellerende i -like stor grad som for eksempel -Ubuntu sine sider. Deres side -tilbyr, i tillegg til godt design og presentasjon, en nettbasert -emulator av deres operativsystem. Dette er en stor fordel slik jeg ser -det. Bortsett fra dette ser jeg absolutt ingen ulemper med -Skolelinux-prosjektet.
- -Hvilken fri programvare bruker du til daglig?
- -Til daglig er jeg en flittig bruker av det åpne media -sentersystemet XBMC. Det enorme -samfunnet rundt dette prosjektet har gjort dette til et program som -dekker alles behov. Man kan tilpasse det akkurat slik man vil både med -tanke på utseende og funksjoner ved installere plug-ins eller -scripts.
- -Hvilken strategi tror du er den rette å bruke for å få -skoler til å ta i bruk fri programvare?
- -Strategien som burde brukes sett fra mine øyne er -markedsføring. Jeg er sikker på at om flere skoler fikk et lite innsyn -i hvor bra Skolelinux er så ville de ikke nølt med å gå over fra noe -annet som koster de store summer. At skolelinux til de grader tilbyr -en så komplett løsning bure komme frem. Enten via reklamekampanjer -eller ved å sende ut folk til skoler for så å la skolenettverk -ansvarlige få teste ut hvordan Skolelinux fungerer i praksis. Om det -i tillegg ble utviklet gode websider og en emulator for å la brukere -prøve operativsystemet ville nok dette ha styrket inntrykket -betraktelig.
+ +Earlier, I reported about +my +problems using an Intel SSD 520 Series 180 GB disk. Friday I was +told by IBM that the original disk should be thrown away. And as +there no longer was a problem if I bricked the firmware, I decided +today to try to install Intel firmware to replace the Lenovo firmware +currently on the disk.
+ +I searched the Intel site for firmware, and found +issdfut_2.0.4.iso +(aka Intel SATA Solid-State Drive Firmware Update Tool) which +according to the site should contain the latest firmware for SSD +disks. I inserted the broken disk in one of my spare laptops and +booted the ISO from a USB stick. The disk was recognized, but the +program claimed the newest firmware already were installed and refused +to insert any Intel firmware. So no change, and the disk is still +unable to handle write load. :( I guess the only way to get them +working would be if Lenovo releases new firmware. No idea how likely +that is. Anyway, just blogging about this test for completeness. I +got a working Samsung disk, and see no point in spending more time on +the broken disks.
Debian Edu / Skolelinux is -an operating system based on Debian intended for use in schools. It -contain a turn-key solution for the computer network provided to -pupils in the primary schools. It provide both the central server, -network boot servers and desktop environments with heaps of -educational software. The project was founded almost 12 years ago, -2001-07-02. If you want to support the project, which is in need for -cash to fund developer gatherings and other project related activity, -please -donate some money. - -
A topic that come up again and again on the Debian Edu mailing -lists and elsewhere, is the question on how to transform a Debian or -Ubuntu installation into a Debian Edu installation. It isn't very -hard, and last week I wrote a script to replicate the steps done by -the Debian Edu installer.
- -The script, -debian-edu-bless -in the debian-edu-config package, will go through these six steps and -transform an existing Debian Wheezy or Ubuntu (untested) installation -into a Debian Edu Workstation:
- --
-
-
- Add skolelinux related APT sources. -
- Create /etc/debian-edu/config with the wanted configuration. -
- Install debian-edu-install to load preseeding values and pull in - our configuration. -
- Preseed debconf database with profile setup in - /etc/debian-edu/config, and run tasksel to install packages - according to the profile specified in the config above, - overriding some of the Debian automation machinery. -
- Run debian-edu-cfengine-D installation to configure everything - that could not be done using preseeding. -
- Ask for a reboot to enable all the configuration changes. - -
There are some steps in the Debian Edu installation that can not be -replicated like this. Disk partitioning and LVM setup, for example. -So this script just assume there is enough disk space to install all -the needed packages.
- -The script was created to help a Debian Edu student working on -setting up Raspberry Pi as a -Debian Edu client, and using it he can take the existing -Raspbian installation and -transform it into a fully functioning Debian Edu Workstation (or -Roaming Workstation, or whatever :).
- -The default setting in the script is to create a KDE Workstation. -If a LXDE based Roaming workstation is wanted instead, modify the -PROFILE and DESKTOP values at the top to look like this instead:
- --PROFILE="Roaming-Workstation" -DESKTOP="lxde" -- -
The script could even become useful to set up Debian Edu servers in -the cloud, by starting with a virtual Debian installation at some -virtual hosting service and setting up all the services on first -boot.
+ +It has been a while since my last update. Since last summer, I +have worked on a Norwegian +docbook version of the 2004 book +Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig, +to get a Norwegian text explaining the problems with the copyright +law. Yesterday, I finally broken the 90% mark, when counting the +number of strings to translate. Due to real life constraints, I have +not had time to work on it since March, but when the summer broke out, +I found time to work on it again. Still lots of work left, but the +first draft is nearing completion. I created a graph to show the +progress of the translation:
+ +When the first draft is done, the translated text need to be +proof read, and the remaining formatting problems with images and SVG +drawings need to be fixed. There are probably also some index entries +missing that need to be added. This can be done by comparing the +index entries listed in the SiSU version of the book, or comparing the +English docbook version with the paper version. Last, the colophon +page with ISBN numbers etc need to be wrapped up before the release is +done. I should also figure out how to get correct Norwegian sorting +of the index pages. All docbook tools I have tried so far (xmlto, +docbook-xsl, dblatex) get the order of symbols and the special +Norwegian letters ÃÃÃ wrong.
+ +There is still need for translators and people with docbook +knowledge, to be able to get a good looking book (I still struggle +with dblatex, xmlto and docbook-xsl) as well as to do the draft +translation and proof reading. And I would like the figures to be +redrawn as SVGs to make it easy to translate them. Any SVG master +around? There are also some legal terms that are unfamiliar to me. +If you want to help, please get in touch with me, and check out the +project files currently available from +github.
+ +If you are curious what the translated book currently look like, +the updated +PDF +and +EPUB +are published on github. The HTML version is published as well, but +github hand it out with MIME type text/plain, confusing browsers, so I +saw no point in linking to that version.
The Debian Edu / Skolelinux -project is making great progress and made its second Wheezy based -release today. This is the release announcement:
+ +The first wheezy based beta release of Debian Edu was wrapped up +today. This is the release announcement:
-New features for Debian Edu 7.0.0 alpha1 released -2013-05-14
+New features for Debian Edu 7.1+edu0~b0 released +2013-07-27
-This is the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux 7.0.0 edu
-alpha1, based on
These are the release notes for for Debian Edu / Skolelinux +7.1+edu0~b0, based on Debian with codename "Wheezy".
About Debian Edu and Skolelinux
-Debian Edu, also known as Skolelinux, is a Linux distribution based -on Debian providing an out-of-the box environment of a completely -configured school network. Immediatly after installation a school -server running all services needed for a school network is set up just -waiting for users and machines being added via GOsa², a comfortable -Web-UI. A netbooting environment is prepared using PXE, so after -initial installation of the main server from CD, DVD or USB stick all -other machines can be installed via the network.
- -This is the first test release based on Wheezy (which currently is -not released yet). Basically this is an updated and slightly improved -version compared to the Squeeze release.
+Debian Edu, also known as +Skolelinux, is a Linux distribution based on Debian providing an +out-of-the box environment of a completely configured school +network. Immediately after installation a school server running all +services needed for a school network is set up just waiting for users +and machines being added via GOsa², a comfortable Web-UI. A netbooting +environment is prepared using PXE, so after initial installation of +the main server from CD, DVD or USB stick all other machines can be +installed via the network. The provided school server provides LDAP +database and Kerberos authentication service, centralized home +directories, DHCP server, web proxy and many other services. The +desktop contains +more +than 60 educational software packages and more are available from +the Debian archive, and schools can choose between KDE, Gnome, LXDE +and Xfce desktop environment.
+ +This is the fifth test release based on Debian Wheezy. Basically +this is an updated and slightly improved version compared to the +Squeeze release.
+ +ALERT: Alpha based installations should reinstall or downgrade the +versions of gosa and libpam-mklocaluser to the ones used in this beta +release.
Software updates
+-
-
- Install freemind (0.9.0) by default, and stop installing vym by - default. -
- Install chromium (26.0.1410.43) by default. -
- Install goplay (0.5-1.1) to make golearn available by default. -
- Updated support for Japanese input methods, now based on - ibus-anthy. + +
- Switched roaming workstation profiles from wicd to network-manager + for network configuration, as wicd didn't work any more. +
- Changed version numbers of patched gosa and libpam-mklocaluser + packages to make sure our locally patched versions will be replaced + by the official packages when they are released from Debian. Those + installing alpha version need to reinstall or manually downgrade gosa + and libpam-mklocaluser. +
- Added bluetooth tools to the default desktop (bluedevil, blueman). +
- Added tools for sharing the desktop on KDE (krdc, krfb). +
- Added valgrind to the default installation for easier debugging of + crash bugs. +
Other changes
+-
-
- Switched default file system from ext3 to ext4 for speed and - reliability improvements. -
- Got rid of unwanted winbind daemon and PAM setup activated because - of 706434. -
- Extended and improved the testsuite tests to detect more possible - problems. -
- Corrected proxy handling to not set http_proxy to a bogus - direct:// URL. -
- Corrected proxy setup for diskless workstations. -
- Corrected PXE setup to use our updated udebs during installation. -
- Made installation handling of low entropy level more robust. -
- Create larger partitions for Roaming workstations and Thin client - servers, to make room for all the software installed. -
- Fix bug in Roaming workstation PAM setup, making it impossible to - log in (706753). +
- Fixed artwork package to work with gnome, no longer break + desktop=gnome installations. +
- Adjusted installer to now work when forced to use a proxy with the + netinst CD. +
- Fixed code detecting and setting/loading hardware specific + setup/firmware to work more robust out of the box. +
- Adjusted Kerberos setup to detect realm and server settings at + install time instead of dynamically at run time. This avoid a crash + with krb5-auth-dialog on diskless workstations without a DNS name. +
- Worked around misfeature in network-manager not calling the dhclient + exit hooks, causing automatic proxy configuration and automatic host + name setting at run time to work again. +
- Fixed feature setting the default Iceweasel start page from URL + fetched from LDAP, to allow schools to set the global default by + updating the dc=skole,dc=skolelinux,dc=no LDAP object. +
- Changed default host name on all networked machines to be unique + (generated from MAC or reverse DNS) after boot. +
- Adjusted partition sizes to make sure they are big enough. +
Known issues
+-
-
- IP resolution for the local hostname give useless IPv6 address - (705900). Only install - libnss-myhostname on roaming workstations until it is fixed. -
- DVD images are not yet ready. -
- No mass import of user account data in GOsa (ldif or csv) - available yet (698840). -
- Missing artwork for the KDE desktop (and probably a few others). -
- KDE Debian submenu lacks icons. -
- LXDE menu lacks entry for changing GOsa password - (website). Installing gosa-desktop will be an option. -
- Backup configuration via web interface is impossible due to - password submission problem - (700257). +
- Grub is missing the new artwork. +
- KDE fail to understand the wpad.dat file provided, causing it to + not use the http proxy as it should. +
- Chromium also fail to use the proxy.
Where to get it
To download the multiarch netinstall CD release you can use
+-
-
- ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu~7.0+edu0~a1-CD.iso -
- http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu~7.0+edu0~a1-CD.iso -
- rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu~7.0+edu0~a1-CD.iso debian-edu~7.0+edu0~a1-CD.iso +
- ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b0-CD.iso + +
- http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b0-CD.iso + +
- rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b0-CD.iso .
The MD5SUM of this image is: 685ed76c1aa8e44b12d3fde21faf450b
+The MD5SUM of this image is: 55d5de9765b6dccd5d9ec33cf1a07109
+
The SHA1SUM of this image is: 996a1d9517740e4d627d100de2d12b23dd545a3f
To download the multiarch USB stick ISO release you can use
+ +-
+
+
- ftp://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b0-USB.iso +
- http://ftp.skolelinux.org/skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b0-USB.iso +
- rsync -avzP ftp.skolelinux.org::skolelinux-cd/wheezy/debian-edu-7.1+edu0~b0-USB.iso . + +
The MD5SUM of this image is: d8f0818c51a78d357de794066f289f69
+
The SHA1SUM of this image is: 49185ca354e8d0543240423746924f76a6cee733
The SHA1SUM of this image is: 6c874de157024da13e115bab29c068080a11ec4c
How to report bugs
- +